Dallas Star Pat Colbert, who played Dora Mae in the hit series, has died at the age of 77.

She is said to have died on June 23 at her home in Compton, California. Her sister Tami Colbert confirmed the news to The Hollywood ReporterThe star had suffered three strokes in the last decade. The funeral is scheduled for July 20.

Colbert played the glamorous host and manager of the Oil Baron Club in the last eight seasons of the long-running soap. The series ran for 14 seasons from 1987 to 1991 and became a classic of American television.

The star also appeared in the 1987 film Leonard Part 6alongside Bill Cosby. Colbert played Allison Parker in the spy comedy, which follows a retired spy who runs a restaurant. She also starred in the ABC series A Colt for all occasions in 1981.

“As the only recurring African-American character in the series, Dora Mae never had a storyline because Dallas “She never tried to be more than the saga of the Ewing family, but she played the role with elegance and intelligence,” says Shaun Chang of the film and television blog Hill Place told The Hollywood Reporter.

“The main characters and the show itself treated them with respect and without any condescension. Dallas had many recurring supporting characters that helped create a sense of community for a show set in a big city, and Dora Mae was an integral part of the series.”

Broadcast from 1978 to 1991, Dallas revolves around the wealthy Texan oil family Ewings, with JR (Larry Hagman) becoming the villain and rising star of the soap.

Viewers were stunned by the season three finale, “A House Divided,” in which JR is shot in the chest by an unknown person.

The season ended on a cliffhanger, and viewers had to wait eight months for the show to return and give them an answer. During that time, the question “Who shot JR?” quickly became a national buzzword in the United States.

It was not an easy question to solve either. JR’s unsavory behavior – The New York Times once described him as “the meanest man on television” – meant that any of the show’s characters could have had a motive for the attack.

The culprit was finally revealed in the fourth episode of the fourth season, entitled “Who Done It.” An estimated 83 million viewers tuned in to find out the answer after months of suspense. The episode aired on November 21, 1980.